Washing-machine



n tra STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL VAN DE BOGERT, OF BINGHAMTON, VNIIV YORK.

WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,728, dated April 19, 1859.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL VAN DE BOGERT, of Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I/Vashing-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and lexact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters and marks thereon.

Of theA drawings forming part of this specification Figure l is a top view of my machine shown in condition for use, and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the main parts of the same.

This machine consists of a suitably formed shell or exterior box (a) within which is a tub (b) having radial grooves (c) which expand in width and depth from the center to the periphery of the tub (d). A shaft (c) passes through the tub and has a bearing in the box its upper' end (g) passing through a supporting bar (7L) which is secured to the side of the box at Near the upper end of this shaft and below the supporting bar is a toothed wheel which is firmly aliixed to the shaft. A crank-shaft (7s) has upon its inner end a screw wheel (l) which fits into the toothed wheel The inner end of this crank-shaft is supported by a pivoted lever (m), the lever being held to a flange (a) extending laterally from the supporting bar (71,) and the crankshaft passing through an elongated hole in the flange. The object of thus supporting the inner end of the crank-shaft is to allow of the ungearing of the worm-wheel, as it will be seen by Fig. 2, the movement of the upper end of the lever inwardly, as shown by red lines, throwing the worm wheel out of gear and the reverse movement of the lever, as shown in black lines, throwing the wormwheel into gear with the toothed wheel, a latch (0) being used to hold the lever in position. The crank shaft passes through and has bearing in the side of the box at (7J) the exterior end of it being marked (y). Upon the inner end of the supporting bar (It) is an extension piece to which is aliixed a bearing (s) for another shaft (t), and upon the side of the box is the outer bearing (u) for this shaft, both bearings being elongated holes or slots in which the ends of the shaft has play during its motions. The shaft (t) supports by bars or rods c) a conical shaped roller which may be grooved or fiuted as shown by the drawings, or grooved circularly, or spirally, like a screw, or have such other irregular form of surface as may be regarded best. A connecting rod (w) passes from the crank (y) of the crank-shaft (la) to a cross-bar (a), the bar being attached to the bars or rods (o) of the conical roller or cylinder.

My experience in the use of the cylinder or roller leads me to prefer that its fiutes or grooves should be spiral or run like the threads of a screw, as, I think, when thus formed the water will not be thrown out of the tub or washing box.

The operation of this machine will be readily understood. By rotating the crank shaft the tub or washing-box will have given to it, through the medium of the wormwheel and toothed-wheel, continuous rotation, while the cylinder or roller will, through the connecting rod, have given to it a vibratory motion, and thus the whole of the articles to be washed will be subjected to the action of the rubbing or washing surfaces moving in part in opposite directions and in part in the same direction with each vibration of the cylinder. IVhenever it is desirable to have the cylinder act upon any of the articles for a greater length of time, in order the more thoroughly to wash them, by ungearing the worm-wheel the tub will have given it vibratory motions the same as the cylinder or roller and thus the articles can be operated upon by the joint action of the two for any length of time required.

Having thus fully set out the construction and operation ofmy invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

l. Subj ecting the articles to be washed to the combined action of t-he fluted or roughened surfaces of the tub and cylinder, the two surfaces moving in part in opposite and in part in the same directions with each vibration of the cylinder, as herein set forth.

2. I claim the arrangement of the means for gearing and ungearing the wheels as herein recited, whereby I am enabled to give vibratory motion to both of the rubbing surfaces as herein described.

MICHAEL VAN DE BOGERT.

Witnesses:

H. B. OGDEN, C. W. CALDER. 

